Truckee is about to get more beer and more music.
The Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House is now open for business. There are 22 beers and two ciders on tap in the 200-person capacity building, which also serves as a live music venue. It is in the former 3,500 square-foot Bank of the West site at the corner of Bridge and Jibboom streets, flanked by, and just up the road from, downtown Truckee’s longtime music and restaurant hubs Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats and the Bar of America. It has 28 parking spots.
Established in December 2014, the brewery will remain in Incline Village, where there are 10 employees. Twenty-six more people have been hired for the Truckee site. The ambiance will be the same at the Alibi Ale Works Incline Brewery and Tap Room.
“We’re focused on creating a real community atmosphere,” said Kevin Drake, who co-owns the business with Rich Romo. “There are no TVs so people actually have good, old-fashioned conversations.
“We intentionally designed our Incline space and our Truckee space with big, long shared tables and long bars so there isn’t really any individual seating. You’re always sitting next to somebody even if you came alone. It’s a public house-type vibe. And I think that’s refreshing to people.”
Drake said he wants to offer free live music on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with a goal of adding Fridays and some ticketed larger shows with national bands. The venue will be equipped with a sound and lighting system and a 12-by-20 foot stage.
Drake is a member of the band Sneaky Creatures, which plays an eclectic blend of music. Alibi Ale Works is all about variety, too.
“We’re not a one-trick pony, trying to knock one beer style out of the park,” Drake said. “We try to cast a wide net and make a really wide range. It’s almost cliché to say but we really have a beer for everybody. No matter what you’re into, hoppy, light, dark, sour, we’ve got it. That’s been a key to success.”
The water used to make the beer is from Lake Tahoe. Alibi Ale Works will be close to the shore as a host of the Friday night Music on the Beach summer series at Kings Beach.
“We have only two year-round beers, the rest is batch-to-batch or seasonal,” Drake said. “It keeps people on their toes and it keeps regulars coming back because there’s always something new to try.”
Alibi Ale Works is distributed in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Reno, Truckee and, most recently, in Bishop and the Mammoth Lakes areas.
The Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House will feature the company’s “first foray into food.”
“We’re not doing burgers, salads or pizza or the usual fare,” Drake said. “There’s tons of that in downtown Truckee. We’re focusing on some really creatively conceived nachos.”
A grand opening will be held later this summer, probably in August.
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